Enemy Property Bill: A bone of contention in monsoon session of Parliament?

Enemy Property Bill: A bone of contention in monsoon session of Parliament?

According to the Enemy Property Bill, if one has inherited or bought property from someone who went to
Pakistan or some other country during partition that transfer of
property becomes illegal with retrospective effect.

advertisement

Ashhar Khan

New Delhi

July 18, 2016

UPDATED: July 19, 2016 16:21 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

Enemy Property Bill is the bone of contention this Parliament session.

The Enemy Property Act was enacted in the year 1968.

Enemy Property Bill is the bone of contention between the Centre and the Opposition this monsoon session of Parliament.

According to the Enemy Property Bill which was enacted in 1986, if one has inherited or bought property from someone who went to Pakistan or other any other country during partition that transfer of property becomes illegal. And the transfered property will go back to the custodian. The Bill also prohibits civil courts from entertaining any disputes, and there is no redressal forum.

Lok Sabha cleared the bill in March this year and it is now pending in the Rajya Sabha. The representatives of the four parties in the standing committee KC Tyagi (JD-U), K Rahman Khan, PL Punia and Husain Dalwai of the Congress, D Raja (CPI) and Javed Ali Khan (SP) gave their dissent. Opposition parties have termed this Bill anti-minority and against the principles of natural justice.

EXAMPLE OF ENEMY PROPERTY BILL

Raja of Mahmudabad, who owned properties in Hazratganj, Sitapur and Nainital left for Iraq and stayed there for some years before settling in London. However, his wife and son Mohammed Amir Mohammad Khan stayed behind in India and were active in local politics.

In 1986, Raja's estate was declared enemy property, and a 30-year long legal battle was launched when the Raja's son tried to claim rights to it after his death.

On October 21, 2005, an apex court bench comprising of Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Altamas Kabir ruled in favour of the son, but if the Bill goes ahead Raja's property may also become enemy property.

Anand Sharma Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha said, "We have communicated to the government that we have issues with the Bill which should be addressed first."